AVROM SHMOYSH (SZMOJSZ)

AVROM SHMOYSH (SZMOJSZ) (May 25, 1892-February 19, 1966)

            He was born in Proskurov, Podolia.  He was raised in Lodz.  He attended public school and high school.  From 1915, with brief interruptions, he lived in Warsaw until September 1939.  He was active in the trade union movement and Jewish cooperatives in Poland.  In 1941 he came to New York.  He was active in the Bund from 1906 forward.  He began writing for the Bundist weekly newspaper Di tsayt (The times) in St. Petersburg (1913-1914), later for Lebens-fragen (Life issues) in Warsaw and from time to time for Folkstsaytung (People’s newspaper) and Fortshrit (Progress) in New York.  He edited Der lodzer arbayter (The Lodz worker) (1914, published illegally in Pyetrkov, one issue), and he co-edited Di profesyonele bavegung (The trade union movement) in Warsaw, Di kooperative bavegung (The cooperative movement), and Farn folk (For the people).  In book form: Hantbukh far kredit-kooperativn (Handbook for credit cooperatives) (Warsaw: Farband, 1925), 160 pp., second edition (1927), 194 pp.; Vos darfen di mitglider visen vegen di algemeyne farzamlungen (What do the member need to know about the general meetings) (Warsaw: Farband, 1927), 16 pp.  His pen names include: A. Sh., A. Shm-sh, and A. Ludzki.  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Y. Sh. Herts, Doyres bundistn (Generations of Bundists), vol. 3 (New York, 1968).

Berl Cohen